I will admit that I take UFO sightings with a grain of salt. There are so many and among those some that seem ridiculous, but there's a recent one in Missouri that got my attention. A Sikeston man claims he saw a light move across the sky, stop and then zoom up into the atmosphere. Now you have my complete attention.

I want to be careful not to sensationalize or mischaracterize the account of a Sikeston, Missouri man who recently shared what he saw with the National UFO Reporting Agency.

On the night of September 5, 2024 at around 8pm, he says he saw this and these are his exact words:

"White light in sky going north abruptly stopped mid flight and went upwards as if leaving atmosphere.

White light going north abruptly stopped mid flight and went upwards as if leaving atmosphere. White light looked like a star in the sky, but much bigger. Light flew in a northern direction before stopping and shooting upwards as if leaving atmosphere at incredible speed."

When I see accounts like this, I first try to narrow down possible natural phenomena. Could he have seen a star? Not likely one that would move. Could it have been a meteor? Space rocks do burn up in the atmosphere all the time, but don't zoom upward unless I'm mistaken. Could it have been an aircraft? None I am aware of have the capability to stop suddenly and then zoom upwards at "incredible speed".

What did this Sikeston, Missouri man see? By definition it is an unidentified flying object or perhaps I should use the new term of unidentified aerial phenomena. No matter what you call it, it was a strange Missouri sky sight.

The bigger question is what was the mission and/or intention of what he saw that night in Sikeston? The truth is up there somewhere.

LOOK: The states with the most UFO sightings

For each state, we’ve also included details of famous UFO sightings in that state. Of note is that almost three-quarters of all UFO sighting reports in the United States occur between 4 p.m. and midnight, and tend to peak between 9 and 10 p.m. Food for thought next time you're out scoping for alien life. Keep reading to see which states have had the most UFO sightings.

Gallery Credit: Nicole Caldwell & Matt Albasi

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